Four White Lilies Old Version
by Decadent Decay
Summary: OLD VERSION; please go to my profile for the new one! Years ago, they made a promise. Now a twist a fate seems to have brought them back together. But a lot can happen in 9 years that makes childhood promises less than memorable. LuffyxOC!
1. Prologue

**Yo!**

**This is my first full length One Piece fic. I don****'****t know what anyone will think of it, but the ideas have been floating around in my head for a LONG time now and I figured I may as well write it out. This is the story of my oc, so it may be slightly confusing, but I****'****m going to try and make it as clear as possible. So if you have any questions at all, please feel free to ask; I****'****m really good about replying to messages quickly.**

**Extra Note! The prologue takes place in Luffy****'****s home town. At the time, Luffy and Emi are both eight.**

**Disclaimer: ****I don****'****t own One Piece. Duh.**

**.:x:.**

In the middle of a forest in the Goa Kingdom of East Blue, four kids sat around a blazing fire, chomping down on freshly roasted meat and laughing their asses off.

"Did you see that guy's face when Emi ran under his legs and grabbed the treasure?" A curly haired boy wearing a tattered top hat laughed.

A black haired boy with freckles swallowed a huge chunk of meat grinned and replied loudly, "Hell yeah, it was priceless! The loser didn't even know what hit him!"

This time the only girl, about eight years old, commented, "What about the way that scrawny guy shrieked when Luffy's arm stretched?"

The final boy, only a few months older than the girl and wearing a straw hat laughed obnoxiously.

"Shishishi, it was hilarious!"

The small group erupted into raucous laughter again, tears of mirth stinging at their eyes. A little while later, the laughter died down and the four lay on their backs, staring at the stars above them.

"I'm gonna miss ya when you're gone, Emi. You're a riot…" The boy in the top hat said, fighting back a yawn.

"Me too. Do you really have to leave tomorrow?"

"Yeah… Sorry Luffy, but my grandparents said we're setting sail in the morning. But I'll see you guys out at sea someday though, I know it."

"Promise?'

"'Course, Sabo."

"Tch, all three of you sound like wimps," The freckled boy said, fixing his gaze on the smoke wafting up through the summer air.

Unfazed, Emi grinned and nudged the older boy with her foot.

"C'mon Ace, admit it. You're gonna miss me too."

"Yeah, yeah…" Ace retorted dismissively.

Emi was about to continue, but she noticed the corner of Ace's mouth twitch into a small smile and she gladly let the subject drop.

Silence settled over the group and before long, the elder two of the four were asleep.

"Hey, Luffy, are you still awake?" Emi whispered.

"Yeah."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," Luffy replied curiously.

Emi rolled onto her side and looked him square in the eye.

"Why do you want to be Pirate King?"

A look of surprise flashed across the young boy's features before settling into a wide grin.

"Because I want to be free."

Emi paused for a second; she hadn't considered that they would have the same reasons for going out to sea, but it made her strangely happy.

"I want to help you," She finally said, a small smile creeping onto her face.

Luffy's face lit up in excitement.

"Yosh! You can be my Pirate Queen!"

"Promise?" Emi asked hopefully.

"Shishishi… Yup!"

**.:x:.**

The Next Morning:

"Hurry up you guys! I'm late!" Emi shouted as she darted through Windmill village towards the docks.

"Why do we have to come? We already said goodbye!" Sabo replied as the three boys caught up to the young girl.

By now, they had reached the ship. As she darted up the gangplank, Emi said, "Because I have something for you!"

Ace, Sabo, and Luffy watched the crew members load the ship while the waited. A few minutes later, Emi jumped over the side of the boat and landed in front of them. With a huge grin on her face, she handed each of them a white Lily, and tucked a fourth behind her ear.

"What are these for?" Ace asked, eyeing the flower in his hand as if it might eat him.

"My friend back home calls them friendship lilies. They're my favorite flower because they can grow everywhere," Emi explained, smile never fading.

Before the boys could reply, Emi's grandfather stuck his head over the railing.

"Wrap it up Emi! We're leaving soon!"

"Not before I get a picture of Emi and her friends."

The four kids groaned as Emi's grandmother came down from the ship, camera in hand.

"Oh hush; you'll thank me for the picture later. Now get together and smile."

Knowing they wouldn't get away until they complied, the four reluctantly stood together and grinned. As a spur of the moment decision, Emi threw an arm around each Ace and Luffy's shoulders, giving Ace bunny ears.

Laughing to herself, Emi's grandmother boarded the ship. After giving the boys hugs, much to their displeasure and embarrassment, Emi raced after her.

As the ship began to sail away, Emi heard someone calling to her from shore. She ran to the back of the ship to see Luffy waving frantically.

"OI! EMI! Don't forget our promise!"

A grin broke out across her face as Emi jumped up on the railing and shouted back, "I won't if you don't!"

Back on the docks, Ace, Sabo, and Luffy watched the ship until it disappeared on the horizon. Once it was gone, they turned on their heels and walked away, lilies still in hand.

**.:x:.**

**So, what do you think? I know it's just the prologue, but it's a start, right? Anyway, please tell me what you think! I don't have much experience writing One Piece fics and I could really use some advice!**

**~Seeking Fireflies**


	2. Not So Ordinary Day

**I'm back! With the first actual chapter of the story! Wahoo! This is much quicker than I am used to updating, but hey, if I want to write and I (kind of) have the time, why not?**

**As a warning, you will see a good number of oc's in this chapter. But fear not! They will only appear in these two chapters. Other than that, they will probably only be mentioned occasionally. If you're confused by the oc's during the chapter, look at the author's note at the end, and I'll put their bio's there. Emi's bio is on my profile.**

**Once again, review or pm me if you have any questions. Any at all! Well, as long as they have some relevancy.**

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own One Piece. Simple as that.**

**Oh! And I put a poll about this story on my profile, so please check it out! If you're too lazy to go to the poll (I hope you're not, but I understand), what I want to know is if you want me to put side pairings in the story. If so, which ones.**

**.:x:.**

Hanatomi Emi was not a happy camper.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, she went over how she had gotten into this mess. The afternoon had started simply enough. She and two of her crewmates, Hota and Katsu, were walking through town after lunch. That was when a group of particularly grumpy looking marines walked by. Always out for a laugh, Hota and Katsu wasted no time pissing off the marines and running off, leaving Emi to fend for herself. There had been too many people around to put up a decent fight, and in the end, she was captured.

So now, Emi was sitting handcuffed in a moist and dingy cell, underground in a small marine base irritably planning her escape. Oh the joy.

A guard came through the hall every 10 minutes. That gave Emi 10 minutes to pick the locks on her handcuffs and cell door and create a big enough distraction to grab her stuff (which had been confiscated just before she was thrown in the cell) and escape. Easy, right?

'_Hmm… It's pretty hot down here, so there must be a boiler nearby… A nice little fire there should do the trick.'_

The sound of boots hitting the stone floor broke Emi's train of thought and she tried not to look impatient as the guard passed her cell.

The second the sound of footsteps disappeared at far end of the hall, Emi sprung into action. Digging out the hairpin she had hidden deep in her long black hair (placed there for uses such as these), Emi hastily picked the lock on her handcuffs. Once the cold metal slipped off of her wrists, she jumped to her feet, making quick work of the cell door.

Slipping out of her cell and ignoring the pleas of the other prisoners to release them as well, Emi moved towards the metal cabinet next to the door the guard came in from. It was protected only by a padlock so old that it only took one swift kick to break it into rusty pieces. As the contents clattered to the ground and she grabbed her weapon and messenger bag, Emi couldn't help but laugh at how horrible the security here was. Who in their right mind would store prisoners' possessions so close to the cells?

Within the next few minutes Emi had located the boiler room and rigged it to blow. As she was searching for an exit, a thought occurred to her: if the prisoners were still stuck in their cells, there was no way for them to escape the fire. Emi refused to just let them die, so she changed her course for the security room.

By the time she had reached the room, the marines had noticed that the boiler was about to explode and were desperately trying to escape as soon as possible. Because of this, the little room full of monitors was completely empty.

Hastily scanning the panels of colorful buttons, Emi finally spotted a red switch obnoxiously labeled PRISONER RELEASE DO NOT TOUCH. She yanked it down and watched as prisoners swarmed out of their cells.

That was when she heard a muffled _BANG_ and the floor shook slightly. Glancing at a monitor placed outside the boiler room, she saw nothing but smoke and flames. Emi watched, awestruck, as the flames raced through the base like an infectious disease.

Snapping out of her stupor, Emi darted out of the room and down the hall. She flung open the door of the stairwell only to be greeted by a face full of suffocating black smoke.

Shit! She was still on the third floor!

Emi turned and sprinted down a long hallway. There were doors on either side of her, but she knew they only led to offices. Her only option was the window at the very end of the hall. She didn't quite like the idea of jumping out a window, but one look at the blaze floating the hallway was all it took to change her mind.

Shrugging, she said to herself, "Well, it's now or never," and crashed through the glass.

For a brief moment, Emi felt like she was flying before plummeting to the semi-crowded street below. Closing her eyes and bracing herself for the landing, Emi felt herself hit something before finally hitting the ground and rolling to the side a few times.

Coughing from smoke inhalation, Emi sat up slowly to see what she had landed on. Only, it turned out to be a who, not a what. The boy appeared to be about 17. He had freckles and black hair and wore shorts and an unbuttoned t-shirt. Upon glancing at his face, Emi's first impression was that he looked vaguely familiar.

"Ow… What the hell just hit me?" The boy muttered, sitting up and placing his flashy orange hat back on his head.

"That would be me. Sorry 'bout that," Emi replied casually, scratching the back of her head.

"Eh, it's alright. Worse things have happened," The boy replied, smiling at her. She smiled back lazily, finding it amusing that he seemed completely relaxed even after someone had just fallen from the sky (well, kind of) and landed on him.

The boy studied the girl in front of him carefully. She was slight, on the verge of scrawny and definitely no older than fourteen. She had long black hair that had spiral curls at the tips and large purple eyes. There were fresh cuts and scratches on her long arms and legs, and the boy assumed they were from the glass shards scattered on the ground around them.

The boy snapped out his thoughts when he noticed her picking up the random items that had fallen out of her messenger bag.

"Lemme help you with that," He said.

Without waiting for an answer, the boy picked up the closest thing to him. He froze when he saw the picture of four kids in his hand.

"Why do you have a picture of me?" He asked bluntly.

Emi, who had gathered all of her other possessions, furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

Looking at the picture over the boy's shoulder, she replied, "What are you talking about? I've never even—wait a minute… Ace?"

Ace, now completely confused, looked to the girl beside him, down at the picture, and back at the girl.

"Emi? Is that really you?"

In an instant, they both started talking over each other, asking questions excitedly. After a moment of rambling, they looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"C'mon," Ace said, standing up and offering her a hand up, "My ship is docked nearby. We can talk while you get patched up."

Emi blinked at him before noticing the bleeding cuts on her arm for the first time. She then shrugged, took his hand, and walked happily alongside Ace.

"The Spade Pirates, eh?" Emi commented airily, eyeing the Jolly Roger as they boarded the ship.

"Yep," Ace replied, leading her to the small infirmary where the doctor greeted Ace and Emi and started working on Emi's arms and legs, "My very own crew. What about you?"

Trying to ignore the antiseptic stinging at her skin, Emi answered, "I'm part of the Yang Pirates now. We've only been on the Grand Line for a month or so, but I sure as hell didn't expect to see you here."

"Same here," Ace laughed, "So mind explaining why you jumped out of a window on the third story of a burning marine base?"

Emi shrugged carelessly and grinned, "Two of my nakama thought it'd be fun to piss of a few marines and let me take the heat. I had to get out somehow."

"Sounds like your crewmates have your best interest in mind," Ace said sarcastically.

"They mean well, they just don't always know when to quit. Either way they'll wake up with green hair tomorrow as a thank you gift. But anyway, how are Luffy and Sabo doing?"

"Luffy's great; he can't wait to head out to sea in three years," Ace said, grinning a bit before his face fell "But Sabo…"

Emi sat frozen as Ace told her about what happened in the Goa Kingdom after she went back home with her grandparents. When he finished, Emi stared fixedly at the tattoo on the inside of her left wrist, trying to find the words to say.

"That's… horrible," Was all she could force out.

"Yeah," Ace agreed, dropping his gaze to the floor.

The doctor finished wrapping Emi's arms, so she and Ace thanked him, went back outside, and talked on the deck for a while. A few hours later, Emi looked at the sinking sun.

"I have to get going, my nakama are probably worried."

Ace nodded in agreement and asked, "Can you get to your ship from here?"

"Yep, no problem. But first…"

Trailing off, Emi tore out a sketch of Sabo she had drawn in her sketchbook while they were talking. After showing it to Ace, she folded up and tied it to a white lily that she pulled out of her bag.

"What are you doing?" Ace inquired, shoving his hands in his pockets and furrowing his brow in confusion, "And where did you get that flower?"

"We passed a vine of these lilies on the way here. I told you they grow everywhere," Emi answered absently, rummaging through her bag and pulling out a match **(a/n: Emi doesn't know Ace has a Devil Fruit at this point)**, "And I'm giving Sabo a Viking funeral."

Without another word, Emi struck the match and held it to the paper. Once it was lit, she tossed out to sea and let the wind carry it away. The pair watched in silence until the paper and flower had both disappeared.

"Well, I'm off," Emi said, turning around and strolling towards the gangplank, hands resting behind her head, "See you soon?"

Ace smirked at her and replied, "Definitely."

**.:x:.**

Two Years Later:

Emi crept silently into the darkened room, shutting the door slowly to keep if from creaking. Taking a few steps forward, she set down the two buckets of ice in her hand and eyed her two victims. They were both still fast asleep. Perfect.

Trying hard to muffle her snickers, Emi picked up one bucket and dumped it on her first target and quickly did the same to the other.

Almost instantly, two twin boys sprung out of their hammocks, practically screaming bloody murder. Emi, unable to hold in anymore, burst out laughing. The twins heard her and trained their sharp green eyes on the girl in front of them.

"EMI!"

"Crap…" Emi muttered before turning on her heel and sprinting out of the room with the currently pissed off twins on her heels.

The twins continued to chase her fruitlessly through the ship. Every time they came got close enough to grab her, Emi would dodge them easily with more agility than a gymnast and dart away again. After ten minutes of this game, they changed tactics. Using their Devil Fruit ability, they created around twenty clones of themselves and sent them after Emi. She managed to fight a number of them off but was tackled into a dog pile soon after that.

"Revenge time!" The twins chimed, grinning evilly.

Squirming futilely under all the extra weight, Emi shouted, "Yoko, Benji, help! Hota and Katsu are trying to kill me again!"

The two crewmates, who were on their way to the galley, looked over at the three squabbling teenagers. Benji, the first mate, a quiet man with cropped brown hair, chuckled and kept walking, as if you say 'you got yourself into this mess, get yourself out.' Yoko, on the other hand, sighed exasperatedly and put her hands on her hips.

"Is it possible for you three to go just one day without attacking each other?"

Hota, Katsu, and Emi paused, looked at each other, then back at Yoko, and said in unison, "Nope. Too much fun."

Yoko rolled her eyes at their response and followed Benji into the galley. The second the door closed, the twins seized Emi, who continued writhing about and shouting at the top of her lungs.

Just as they were about to toss Emi over the railing, the captain, a redhead with an athletic build, walked by, skimming the front page of a newspaper.

"Hota, Katsu, put Emi down," He ordered lazily, without looking up.

"HA!" Emi cheered as the boys whined and dropped her back on the deck.

"I wasn't finished, Emi," the captain continued, fighting a grin, "If you really need to throw her overboard, wait until after breakfast."

"Hey!" Emi protested.

However, she was drowned out by the twins' cheers as they grabbed her by the wrist and headed towards the galley.

Inside the small galley, Yoko, Benji, and Jiro had already begun eating.

"Hey, Captain, is there anything in there about Ace?" Emi inquired, plopping down in the chair next to Yoko.

Jiro flipped a couple of pages in the newspaper and frowned, shaking his head.

"No, sorry."

"It's Ace, I'm sure he's fine," Benji added solemnly.

Emi frowned and turned to her food. She hadn't seen Ace since they crossed into the New World and last she heard, Ace was in the middle of a huge fight with Jinbei, the Shichibukai. But that was a few months ago, and since she no idea how it turned out, Emi was starting to get concerned. Knowing Ace, the damn hothead had gotten himself killed or something.

"What's the matter, Emi? Worried about your precious boyfriend?" Katsu jeered.

"Gross! Dating Ace would be like dating my brother!" Emi exclaimed, fake gagging to prove her point.

"Yeah, sure," Hota replied.

Emi lifted an eyebrow and kicked his chair from under the table, sending Hota toppling to the floor. Katsu started laughing with Emi before she did the same to him.

The rest of the day was completely normal. Yoko lay in the sun for a while before going below deck to tamper with the explosives she always had stashed away. Jiro and Benji discussed their route and plans while Emi worked on a painting and occasionally joined Hota and Katsu's soccer game.

Later That Night:

Emi was in her small room, sprawled out on her back on her bed. She had woken up in the middle of the night and couldn't fall back asleep, so she decided to get dressed. Now, it was only a couple of hours before dawn and she was bored out of her mind.

Needing something to do, she pulled her weapon out from under her pillow –placed there in case of attack… Or Hota and Katsu deciding to get revenge in the middle of the night– and twirled it around in her fingers. It was a curious little instrument she had inherited from her grandmother. At the moment, it was a rod roughly the length of her forearm but with one tiny flick, it expanded to a staff slightly taller than she was. Another flick and a scythe blade flourished out of one end of the staff and melded into shape. The staff was a deep jade color and appeared to be made of some kind of unknown stone, but felt cool to the touch, like metal. The blade appeared to be constructed of some type of ivory-like material.

Emi elongated it to its full length and smirked as she spun it around her fingers again. A blue energy crackled around the blade, forming a circle as the weapon turned. If she moved it the right way, shockwaves of blue energy would tear off in the direction she chose. Well, mostly… It had taken _a lot_ of time and practice to get it under control, let alone make it go where she wanted.

Just as Emi was reveling in the silence and the smooth rocking of the ship on the water, Benji's shouts rang across the ship. Suddenly hyperaware of her surroundings, Emi noticed the sound of many voices in the distance and the odor of… gunpowder?

Fearing the worst, Emi snatched her staff and messenger bag, threw her door open, and sprinted up onto the deck.

The sight that greeted her was much worse than she imagined. From where she stood, all Emi could see was a solid wall of marine vessels positioned in a tightly packed circle around their ship. A circle that was closing in on them very quickly.

Emi's blood ran cold in her veins as she came to a grim realization: they were going to die.

"Everyone! Get down! NOW!"

Jiro's voice sounded over the pounding in Emi's ears and broke her out of her shock. Emi dropped to the wooden floor and covered her head instinctively.

Then the cannon fire rained down and all hell broke loose.

The cannonballs pounded into the Yang Pirates' ship, impaling it and showering the entire crew in jagged, burning debris. There was a loud, creaking sort of groan and the mast toppled over. It nearly crushed Emi, but she felt herself being shoved away at the last second.

Emi shot up to her feet when the cannon fire ceased. Smoke hung everywhere, enshrouding their ruined ship in a dense black cloud. Emi looked to the mast lying in front of her and let out an involuntary cry of horror.

Benji had pushed her out of harm's way and was now sprawled out under the heavy mast. Dead.

Emi wanted to move Benji's remains, but didn't get the chance. A fierce battle cry rang out and marines flooded onto the slowly sinking ship. Instantly, the remaining Yang Pirates were engulfed in an endless war.

Eventually, Emi had enough of trying to fight her way over to her crewmates. She knocked a few marines out of the way with her staff before jumping up, running on the heads of the marines, and dropping noiselessly to her feet between the twins. Or maybe it was their clones; her brain was so foggy at the moment that she wasn't quite sure.

"There you are, Emi, we were beginning to wonder where you had run off to," Hota said casually, kneeing a marine in the gut and tossing him away.

"Yeah, we were just about to call in a search and rescue squad," Katsu added, grinning and firing the pistol in his hand.

Normally Emi would have laughed at their jibes, but Benji's face flashed in her mind and her laughter died before it ever really started.

"You guys, Benji's dead. He's really dead," She managed to choke out.

Emi barely caught a glimpse of the pained looks on their faces before they were separated by yet another throng of marines.

Suddenly, Emi noticed the twins' clones disappearing. Panicked, she looked around for Hota and Katsu. She spotted them just in time to see the two fall beside each other, both stabbed through with swords.

Hot tears streamed down her cheeks as Emi fought on, trying hard not to break down in sobs right on the spot. She shook her head to clear it and glanced around, analyzing the battlefield.

Yoko and Jiro were still fighting –either not knowing of the others' deaths or trying to ignore them— but there were swarms of marines pressing in on them from every angle and even more were waiting on the surrounding ships.

Yoko was closer, so Emi tried to make her way over to her blue-haired crewmate. On the way she caught sight of a marine creeping up behind Yoko.

"Yoko! Behind you!" Emi screamed out desperately.

But it turned out to be a cry on deaf ears. Yoko was struck from behind and was dead before she hit the ground.

Emi could feel herself shaking, but whether it was from grief or excess adrenaline she didn't know. It didn't matter though, because they were dead. Benji, Hota, Katsu, Yoko…

A short, agonized shout pierced the air.

Jiro.

Emi watched, stunned, as her captain fell, blood gushing out of the bullet hole in his head.

As he disappeared from view, everything else blurred.

She couldn't move. She wanted to scream, but had no breath to do so. The sounds of battle faded out, replaced by the erratic thudding of her heart –so loud she feared it would burst—and the stream of thoughts racing through her mind at light speed.

Jiro.

Yoko.

Katsu.

Hota.

Benji.

Dead. All of them. _Gone._

Then she was knocked into the water that now covered the deck. She remained under the surface for a moment, having no idea what to do.

Except there was nothing _to_ do, because they were dead.

Either an eternity or a few seconds later, Emi shot up, coughing, sputtering, and choking on the sea water sloshing around her.

Something had caught fire somewhere and the light cast a lurid glare on the marines closing in around her.

_Make it stop_, Emi thought, trembling and shaking her head, _Make it stop. Make it stop._

And then her brain shut down.

Nothing crossed Emi's mind as she rose to her feet stiffly. The staff in her hand seemed to be pulsating to the beat of her heart and the scythe blade appeared menacingly.

In one motion, Emi whisked the scythe around herself, creating a ring of crackling blue light. A second later, it erupted into waves of blindingly bright energy that shot off in every angle, destroying everything, even the marine fleet. Yoko's explosives caught light and blew up, adding to the inferno.

The light subsided and all was finally silent. Exhaustion and grief crashed into Emi like a hurricane and she fell to the ground. Or at least, what was left of it.

Then it all went black.

.:x:.

**Yay! That's the end of chapter one! Sorry if you were waiting for Emi to meet Luffy again, but I had to get through this stuff first. Luffy will most likely appear in either the second or third chapter. **

**Wow… I just read through the end of this chapter and it strikes me as rather depressing. However, it relates to the plot I have planned out, so it needed to be done. Don't worry though! Emi may be kinda sad at the beginning of the next chapter, but she bounces back quickly! It would drive me crazy to write a story with a character who was depressed all of the time and that simply isn't Emi's personality anyway.**

**So anyway, love it? Hate it? Tell me what you think! I'm still working on getting the personalities of the canon characters right.**

**~seekingfireflies**

**P.S: Once again, the bios for the Yang Pirates are below (Emi's is on my profile). There is also a poll on my profile!**

The Yang Pirates:

Watanabe Jiro

Captain/Navigator

Age: 32

Looks: Tall, athletic build; neat red hair and green eyes

Personality: when he's in a good mood, relaxed and easy going; protective of his crewmates, always keeps their best interest/safety in mind.

Other: He ate a Devil's Fruit that gives him premonitions of the future

Sato "Benji" Benjirou

1st Mate/Doctor

Age: 34

Looks: stocky build; close-cropped brown hair and hazel eyes

Personality: more of the strong silent type. He's not cold, he simply isn't talkative. On the other hand, he can give good advice.

Other: he's a tattoo artist

Inoue Yoko

Cook

Age: 29

Looks: dark blue hair down to her shoulders, blue eyes; average height, curvy.

Personality: Generally straightforward and blunt. When she's in a very good mood she can be light-hearted and joking, but she's very easily pissed. She is quite the feminist.

Other: She loves explosives and is very adept at handling them

Yamasaki Hota and Katsu

Shipwright(s)

Age: 18

Looks: identical twins; tall, slim, and lanky; fair hair and green eyes

Personality: devious and mischievous; always looking for a good laugh, but don't always realize when they're crossing the line

Other: Hota and Katsu were born as Siamese twins. While they were still attached, they ate a Devil's Fruit that allows them to make clones of themselves at will. They were surgically separated when they were still young, but they both retained the Devil's Fruit power.

Notes on the Crew: Every member of the crew (except Emi) also has at least some experience as a con-artist. The crew's overall and individual bounties tend to be lower because most of the heists/stunts the crew pulled weren't well known.


	3. Starting Over

**I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!**

**I know it's been ages since I've updated, but things kept coming up at home and at school and it forced me to put this on the back burner for a little while. But this chapter is nice and long to make up for it! Anyway, I'm back! With a new beta reader who has probably helped me make this story a hundred times better singlehandedly. Thank you AngelWingsAndSatansPitchfork!**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own One Piece. **

**.:x:.**

The next time Emi woke up, her mind was filled with a sort of heavy haze that came with being in a deep sleep for a long time. Bleary eyed, she sat up and stretched. The second she did, pain shot through every nerve ending in Emi's body. She fell back onto the bed limply, her breathing heavy.

Once the pain subsided, Emi's eyes creaked open and she examined her body. Various places on her arms and legs had been bandaged securely and, judging by the pain she had just felt, her stomach and back had been wrapped as well. She was still wearing her shorts from the other day, but someone had swapped her shirt with a man's t-shirt that was at least three sizes too big. Emi looked at the garment more closely. It was generic, but she was certain that it didn't belong to any of her crewmates. But whose was it then?

Still pondering that thought, Emi sat up slowly, eyes clamped shut to brace herself for any pain. When she was upright again, Emi opened her eyes and froze.

Where the hell was she?

The initial shock wore off quickly and Emi scanned the small room. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all made of wood and there were no windows. The only light came from a small oil lamp perched on top of a small chest of drawers crammed into the opposite corner of the room. A chair was placed at the foot of the bed and Emi was comforted by the sight of her messenger bag and staff sitting on it.

Much to her frustration, the more Emi looked around the room, the less she could figure out. She wracked her brain for some kind of clue, but for the life of her, she couldn't recall where she was or how she had gotten here. Wherever the hell here was. All she knew was that she was on some kind of ship, judging by the gentle rocking motion that could only come from ocean waves.

It didn't take long for curiosity to get the best of Emi. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed before gingerly pushing herself to her feet and pacing to the door, all while trying to ignore the pain and stiffness in her body. Much to her relief, the door wasn't locked and it swung open without as much as a creak.

Emi wandered silently through the unknown ship until she finally reached the deck. Squinting in the harsh sunlight, she glanced around for any signs of familiarity.

Still nothing.

The crew members on deck completely ignored the young girl as she made her way to the side of the ship. She searched the horizon hopefully for her ship, but it was nowhere in sight.

Sighing in frustration, Emi rubbed her temples, trying to encourage her memory to work. What the hell happened? Where was her crew?

"You're awake already? The kid was right, you do bounce back fast."

Emi had been so deep in thought that the simple comment was enough to make her shout briefly and jump onto the railing, nearly falling into the ocean in the process. Crouching on the railing, she turned to look at the speaker. It was a lean man with sandy blonde hair, a blue tattoo on his chest, and a lazy smirk on his face. He seemed completely at ease, in contrast to Emi, who couldn't have been tenser.

"Who are you?" She demanded, eyeing the man warily.

"Well, that's Marco, and I'm Thatch."

The cheerful voice came from right next to her ear this time. With a gasp, Emi fell on her butt, hitting the deck with a painful thud. She gazed up at the second man, who was sitting on the railing and exchanging a bemused glance with the first. He had a warm, friendly smile and a peculiar pompadour hairstyle.

The first man (Marco was it?) offered Emi his hand. When she didn't take it, he jibed, "You don't have to be so suspicious; if we were going to kill you, we would have done it by now."

Emi didn't say a word and continued to stare at him determinedly. He looked familiar; they both did. Then it hit her: Marco and Thatch! She had seen their wanted posters. They were division commanders on Whitebeard's crew!

Wait a second… Whitebeard? The _pirate_?

…Huh?

"Why am I here? My crew doesn't have any connection to the Whitebeard Pirates," Emi said abruptly.

Neither of the men seemed perturbed by the edge in her voice. "We found you floating in some wreckage nearby," Thatch explained smoothly.

"But we probably would've just left you there if the kid hadn't recognized you," Marco finished casually, as if he weren't talking about leaving Emi in the middle of the ocean to die.

"Kid?" Emi inquired before she even thought about it, "Who're you talk—"

"Emi!"

A second later, Emi had been snatched off the ground and into a bone crushing hug. Emi looked down and recognized the tattoo on the person's arm.

"Ow… Ace, let me go, that really hurts!" She muttered, trying not to squirm in case her still unexplained wounds reopened.

"Sorry 'bout that." Ace said halfheartedly, releasing her, "But you scared the hell outta me. I thought you were dead when we first found you."

Emi turned rigid when the word dead pierced her ears. Suddenly flashes of the marine ambush stampeded through her mind so rapidly it hurt. One by one her nakama were massacred in front of her, over and over, like an endless loop in her memory. She lost feeling in her legs and slumped to the ground, clutching her head to try and make it stop.

"Shit… They're all dead. They're _really_ dead," She muttered, looking up at the worried gazes watching her.

"Who's dead?" Thatch asked curiously, if not warily.

"My nakama! One minute they were alive, and then _they_ came, and—oh god they're really dead. Oh god oh god oh god…"

Emi's frantic ravings didn't cease until Ace knelt down and gave her shoulders a firm shake.

"Emi, just take a deep breath and tell us what happened," he ordered soothingly.

Tears stung at her eyes as Emi did what she was told shakily. Finally, she let her hands drop from her head to her lap and she said in a trembling, watery voice.

"I don't know how it happened. There was no sign of marines all day and suddenly, in the middle of the night, we were surrounded by three ships. They were everywhere and the next thing I knew, all of my nakama were killed."

The three men gathered around her were silent for a moment. For Ace, it was one of mourning, for he had met Emi's crew and knew how fond she was of them. For Marco and Thatch on the other hand, it was one of bewilderment and tepid shock. While the idea of the marines wiping out a pirate crew was unsurprising, the fact that they made the specific effort to wipe out such a small and mostly unknown crew was rather bizarre.

"How did you manage to survive then? When our lookout spotted the site, everything was demolished," Marco said, raising an eyebrow at the seemingly fragile girl in front of him.

Emi looked up at him for a moment, struggling for an explanation. Finally, she settled on saying, "The last thing I remember is losing my temper and attacking the marines. I can't usually cause that much damage in one go, but given the circumstances, I s'pose it's possible."

Marco still seemed a little skeptical, but he didn't press the matter further.

Silence hung around the quartet until a thought reached Emi that made her head snap to Ace.

"Ace! This is Whitebeard's ship! What the hell are _you_ doing here?"

Ace's brow furrowed as he thought about her question. "Oh yeah! I haven't seen you in a while. I'm part of his crew now," He told her, as if it was obvious.

Emi stared at him in blatant confusion until she asked flatly, "How many times have you tried to kill him?"

Although Emi was completely serious as she said this, Marco and Thatch burst into laughter.

"Geez Ace, how many people did you tell about your plan to kill the Old Man?" Marco jibed, eyeing his newest crewmate.

"I'm assuming he tried a lot then?" Emi inquired lightly. Her mood had improved significantly because of the joking around.

"He made murder attempts at least three times a day. Probably closer to five though," Thatch reported pleasantly.

"Typical Hothead," Emi grinned, laughing along with Marco and Thatch.

"Yeah, yeah, you had your laugh. Give it a rest would ya?" Ace huffed, though it was relatively obvious that he was holding back a grin.

"But it's so entertaining! What else am I supposed to do for fun?" Emi whined, the wide smile on her lips making it clear that she was teasing him.

Ace paused in thought for a moment before he jerked a thumb towards Marco and Thatch and retorted bluntly, "You could screw with these guys instead."

A glint of mischief appeared in Emi's eyes as she replied, "Soon enough. I have to find out what makes them tick first."

Marco and Thatch glanced at each other with expressions mixed with both amusement and wariness as Ace just laughed. "I'm gonna get you something to eat. Play nice now."

Before anyone could protest, Ace turned on his heel and sauntered away, whistling. This left the remaining three to try and continue the conversation. Emi hopped up and sat on the railing near Thatch, swinging her legs carelessly while Marco stood casually with his arms crossed. Marco and Thatch were waiting for Emi to speak, expecting her to have an endless stream of questions for them, but in reality, she was waiting for one of them to say something too. The silence continued for a brief period until the sound of rushing water reached their ears. The three exchanged confused looks before turning to look over the side of the ship to see a large mass growing under the waves. This mass continued to grow until it burst through the water's surface. Burst through and continued to rise to quite a great height…

Once the water had rushed off of the creature completely, it was revealed to be a small sea king. It took the form of an oriental dragon, with two horns slanting back on the top of its head and a long winding body that looped over the surrounding waves. The entirety of the animal was covered in crimson scales, left shining by the seawater, and a great pair of large gold eyes fixed themselves on Marco, Thatch, and Emi, almost level with the three.

Marco and Thatch had tensed up reflexively, watching to see what the beast was doing. Just as they were about to make a move, Emi spun around to face the creature head on and hugged its snout.

"Ryuk! I can't believe you found me!" She shouted in excitement, pushing herself up to sit on the sea king's snout to look in its eyes. Even though the sea king was small in comparison to others, it was still large enough that Emi was only about the size of one of his eyes.

"Oi, care to explain what the hell is going on?" Marco asked loudly, clearly expecting to see 'Ryuk' attempt to devour Emi at any second.

Emi turned around and for a moment, she looked surprised, as if she had forgotten that Marco and Thatch were there. Then, grinning madly, she perched herself on the tip of the sea king's nose, leaving her roughly at eye level with the two men, and explained.

"When I was a kid my grandparents traveled a lot. Sometimes they'd take me with and one day, we found Ryuk here injured near an island. My grandparents helped me fix him up and he started following us around. He was a lot smaller then, but he's stuck by me up until now. I didn't think he'd be able to find me after the marines attacked our ship though."

"So in short, you have a pet sea king?" Thatch asked in disbelief.

Emi frowned slightly, as if in thought before shaking her head in disagreement. "Calling Ryuk my pet implies that I have complete control over him," She finally replied, "I can tell him what to do, but in the end, he doesn't always listen to me. He won't attack your ship or eat anyone though, if that's what you're worried about," she added quickly after another moment of thought.

At that moment, something in the water seemed to catch Ryuk's eye, as he made a sort of grunting noise before turning his head and diving below the surface with a huge splash. Emi barely had enough time to jump off his nose and topple over onto the ship, narrowly avoiding a face plant by catching herself with her hands.

With a huff, Emi sat up and shook some hair out of her eyes, giving Marco and Thatch a look as if to say 'see what I mean?' Chuckling openly, Marco offered her his hand and said, "You're a bit of a klutz, aren't you?"

This time Emi took his hand and allowed him to hoist her up as she replied, "Only sometimes. I can be pretty damn graceful if I put some effort into it."

"Yeah, a lot of effort. I'm surprised you don't trip over your own feet when you fight."

Emi turned around and stuck her tongue out at Ace, who was now smirking beside Thatch.

"Oh shut up Ace, you know that's not true," She retorted.

"If you say so," He taunted, tossing an apple into her hands, "Now eat up. Pops says he wants to talk to ya."

"He does? Why?" Emi asked, catching the apple deftly and taking a large bite. The juice quenched a thirst scratching at her throat that she hadn't realized was there at first. But now she was damned pleased that she had something to get rid of it.

"He probably wants to know who you are. After all, you were hauled on board from that shipwreck solely because Ace recognized you," Marco remarked casually.

Emi nodded in understanding as she chewed. As she swallowed the last bite of apple, she tossed the core over her shoulder and asked blatantly, "Do I have to?"

The three men in front of her burst out into laughter at the ridiculous question. "Are you serious?" Thatch asked as he recovered from his laughing fit.

Emi shrugged her shoulders and grinned sheepishly, "Not really, but I figured it was worth a shot."

"Well the answer is yes, you have to go talk to him."

Before Emi could even protest jokingly, Ace placed his hands firmly on her shoulders and steered her towards the main deck of the ship. Marco and Thatch followed behind; taking their respectful places once they reached their destination. Ace led Emi to the center before shoving her forward for good measure and joining them. As Emi's gaze grazed her new surroundings, she found that she was in the middle of a large circle in the center of the deck. On all sides of her, a large of number of colorfully dressed pirates where gathered and Emi assumed that the other division commanders were somewhere in the mix. Marco, Ace, and Thatch were sitting among them and all of the assembled pirates regarded Emi with varying degrees of interest (or in some cases, disinterest).

Finally, Emi's eyes wandered to the large man seated directly in front of her. There was no mistaking that the man was none other than Whitebeard himself. As Emi noted just how large he was in person, she couldn't help but feel abnormally and uncomfortably small.

When Whitebeard's gaze fell on her and a large grin appeared under his curved moustache, Emi became entirely aware of her current situation. She was standing in front of the _strongest_ man in the _world_ after being dragged onto his ship based on a request from one of his subordinates. While Whitebeard's title and reputation alone didn't set her on edge, Emi found herself growing more and more nervous as she met his gaze and spent more time in his presence. Not trusting her legs to hold her up, Emi sat Indian style in the center of the huge deck, fidgeting with her fingertips and waiting for Whitebeard to say something.

After a prolonged silence, Emi was nearly convinced that Whitebeard was purposely trying to make her uneasy until he finally said, "So you're the brat who survived that shipwreck. What's your name?"

Whitebeard's booming voice snapped Emi out of her anxious state and she tried to focus on the question rather than the intimidating figure in front of her.

"Er, Emi," She said distractedly before saying more confidently, "Hanatomi Emi."

Whitebeard, who had been in the process of taking a drink of sake, paused when he heard this and fixed his eyes on the young girl more closely this time. After a moment, he found the resemblance he was looking for he replied, "Hanatomi, eh? How are Haru and Ruka doing?"

This question caused Emi to stop playing with her fingers and look at him in confusion. "You know my grandparents?" She asked, baffled.

Whitebeard burst into raucous laughter at the sincere question and a few of his older subordinates chuckled with him. Grinning, he replied as if it was obvious, "Of course I do. How could I not remember those two, they were members of Roger's crew. Them and that cranky friend of theirs."

"You mean Sai? So he was always cranky… Huh, and I here I thought it was just me," Emi said, more to herself than anyone else. After a moment, she remembered Whitebeard's initial question and she looked back up at him with a slight frown on her face. "Sai's back in my hometown in East Blue, but my grandparents died five years ago, when I was eleven."

Whitebeard's eyebrows lifted in surprise when he heard this.

"Died, eh? How?"

The story rolled off of Emi's tongue without her having to think about it. "When I was a kid they'd take me on trips to random places in East Blue. One time they went by themselves and never came back. We never heard from them so Sai told me to assume they died in a storm."

After taking another swig of sake, Whitebeard nodded his head in understanding before saying, "That's a damned shame. They were good people. Even better pirates though. Anyway, how do you know Ace?"

Unfazed by the abrupt change of subject, Emi glanced over at Ace briefly before looking back to Whitebeard and grinning, "I met him on a trip with my grandparents and ran into him again on the Grand Line two years ago when I became a pirate. He was a lot moodier as a kid though. He's much more pleasant now."

Ace's shout of protest was drowned out by Whitebeard's thunderous laughter. Once it died down, he swallowed another huge gulp of alcohol and inquired, "A pipsqueak like you has the nerve to call yourself a pirate? Where's your crew?"

"I suspect they're at the bottom of the ocean by now," She replied glumly, looking down at her bandaged hands.

Whitebeard examined her reaction for a minute before saying, "I take it they died in the shipwreck?"

It was more of a statement than a question, but Emi still felt the need to answer it. Looking back up, she replied calmly, "Not quite. We were surrounded and attacked by marines in the middle of the night. I caused the shipwreck after my nakama were dead."

Whitebeard raised an eyebrow skeptically, "By yourself? Well, I suppose that's to be expected from Haru and Ruka's granddaughter. You'll probably be as monstrous as they were. In any case, why did the marines attack you?"

Emi paused to think about it before shrugging her shoulders. "Beats me. We were never treated like much of a threat until now."

A look of discontent flashed across Whitebeard's face. However, it quickly disappeared as he changed the subject.

"Well, your crew's dead and you're alone in the New World. What are you going to do?"

With a scheming smile on her face, Emi rested her chin on one hand and looked up at Whitebeard, "That all depends on what you're going to do. If you're going to kick me off your ship sometime soon, I'll take my stuff and keep sailing now. If not, then I think I'll stick around for a while."

Whitebeard roared with laughter at her reply. "You've got a lot of spunk for a runt. Are you saying you want to join my crew?"

This time it was Emi's turn to laugh. "Hell no!" She told him, "I don't want to be a Whitebeard Pirate; I'm just saying that I'd tag along for a little while."

The two watched each other steadily as Whitebeard thought it over. Finally, he chuckled and took another drink of sake. "Fine then," He said, "Do what you want. Just don't make me regret my decision."

The smile on Emi's face grew into a grin as she replied, "Deal."

**.:x:.**

A Few Months Later:

More streaks of lightning drew cracks in the sky as the resounding thunder rolled on, so loud that it felt like the ocean should be shaking from the noise. But despite the turmoil in the skies, there was barely a wind to speak of and not a drop of rain was falling.

Emi lay on the railing lazily, blowing bubbles with her gum and watching the bolts of lightning split the clouds. The sounds and sights of the storm had a calming effect, but also left her feeling oddly exhilarated. She was alone on the large deck of the Moby Dick, due to the fact that the crew was somewhere below, eating dinner. When the storm had started, Emi had opted to stay outside and watch it rather than join in with the uncontrollable (though usually highly amusing) noise that came with every meal on the ship.

"Oi, Emi!"

At the sound of Marco's voice, Emi turned her head and sat up to face the approaching man.

"What's up?" She asked, blowing another bubble.

"Have you seen Thatch? Pops wants to see him but no one knows where he is," Marco replied, looking around to see if Thatch was close by.

Emi pursed her lips in thought for a moment before shaking her head, "Nope, haven't seen him. The only person I've seen go by is Teach. I'll help you look for him though."

"Sure, thanks," Marco replied, giving her an easy smile.

With that, Emi hopped off the railing and the two split up to start their search. After covering Thatch's extensive amount of usual haunts and coming up dry, the two met up again.

"I don't get it. Where could he be?" Emi asked exasperatedly.

Marco, just as frustrated, could only shrug and shake his head.

"Who're you looking for?" A sudden voice said.

Marco and Emi looked up quickly, thinking for a brief moment that their search was over. However, instead of Thatch, they were greeted by the sight of Ace, giving them a curious look.

"Thatch," Marco replied shortly, "Have you seen him anywhere?"

Ace scratched his head in thought before a thought occurred to him and he perked up, "Didn't he say something about looking at that Devil Fruit he found to see if he could figure out which one it was? He's probably in one of the storage rooms looking at it."

For a second, all Marco and Emi could do was stare at each other. All that work and all they had to do was ask Ace?

Suddenly a mischievous grin broke out on Emi's face as she looked at the two men and said, "Race ya."

Before either Ace or Marco could react, Emi had taken off in the direction of the storage room. After a sharing a brief look and an amused smirk, Ace ran after her, leaving Marco to roll his eyes and follow them. The race continued through the maze of halls below deck until Emi came skidding to a halt in front of the storage room door, Marco and Ace on her heels.

Laughing and flashing the two men a taunting smile, Emi shouted, "HA! I won! Gotta be faster next— oh god."

The color drained from Emi's face as she took a step back from the open door, eyes fixed at what was inside. Marco and Ace came up beside her, confused at her behavior before taking a look into the room and going stiff themselves.

In the middle of the room was Thatch; lying face down in a puddle of his own blood, a large stain covering his back with a number of stab wounds in the center.

For a moment, the trio could only stare in shock before they recovered and edged into the room cautiously to take a look around.

Marco kneeled beside his fallen comrade and pressed his fingers to his neck. "He's still warm. He hasn't been dead long."

"Whoever killed him left the knife behind," Ace added, nudging the bloody object to where the others could see it. Like Marco, his eyes were fixed on their dead nakama.

Emi on the other hand, was doing her best to avoid looking at him. The sight stirred up painful images of her dead crew. So instead, she occupied herself by examining the other contents of the room. When she came upon a small chest that had been opened and knocked over, she picked it up and looked at it more closely.

"Wasn't this the chest Thatch put the Devil Fruit in? What if they killed Thatch to steal it?" Emi pondered grimly.

The three scanned the room in search of the fruit, but found nothing. At the realization that Emi had been proved right, they became silent. No one really knew quite what to say.

Finally, Ace clenched his fists and asked angrily, "Who could have done this? Everyone was at dinner."

Marco and Emi thought hard for a moment before they reached the same conclusion and turned to each other.

"Teach."

**.:x:.**

Half an Hour Later:

"Ace! Just calm down!"

"Pops said this is an exception! You don't have to go after Teach!"

Ace ignored the pleading in his crewmates' voices as he continued to struggle against the hands restraining him. Finally, he had enough and shouted back, "Let me go! I'm his commander! If no one goes after Teach how can Thatch's spirit rest in peace?"

The men continued to try and pacify Ace, but to no avail. He continued to fight against their hold until Whitebeard's voice cut over them, causing them all to stop and turn to him.

"Ace, it's okay. This is an exception. I have a bad feeling about this," Whitebeard said tiredly. His head drooped ever so slightly and his age seemed to show more on his face.

Ace stared, wide eyed, at his captain for a moment before the rage inside him boiled over again.

"Teach killed Thatch and then ran away! He was loyal to you for years and then he threw dirt in your face!"

Whitebeard looked away from Ace for a moment. Ace took a few deep breaths and his anger seemed to come back under his control. With a cold look of determination on his face, he turned away from Whitebeard and placed his hat back on his head.

"On top of all that, he disgraced my father's name and I can't allow that. I'll take care of this myself!"

With those final words, Ace stalked through the crowd of his crewmates, grabbed his backpack, and jumped over the railing of the ship. He landed with a thud on his raft and took off against the shouted protests of his crewmates.

"Hey wait! Ace, come back!"

Up until now, Emi had been sitting on the railing at a small distance from the assembled crew, watching the entire spectacle uneasily. She had to clench her teeth the whole time and remind herself that it wasn't her business. Thatch was a close friend, but this was an argument among the Whitebeard pirates. And since she wasn't one, she didn't have a say in the matter. It wasn't her fight. And she had to keep saying this in her head in order to keep herself from standing up and acting like it was.

Until Ace jumped off that railing and sailed away without a second glance.

Without a word, Emi slipped off the railing and sped off to her room noiselessly. Once there, she yanked a drawstring duffel bag from out under her bed and marched over to the small chest of drawers. Just as she began emptying the contents into the bag, a familiar voice came from the doorway.

"You're leaving too then?"

Emi jumped at the sound. She had been so focused on packing that she hadn't heard the sound of someone approaching. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Emi turned around to see Marco leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed and eyeing her steadily.

Emi's shoulders slumped slightly before she turned back to the drawers and resumed shoving her belongings in the bag.

"Don't try and change my mind, Marco, I'm going. It's not like I have much choice anyway," She told him stubbornly.

"You could stay," Marco suggested, walking over and leaning against the chest of drawers.

Emi laughed once and raised an eyebrow at him, "You and I both know I can't. At this rate I'll be on the Moby Dick for the rest of my life and I can't stay here forever. I'm not part of the crew, remember? Besides, someone has to go after Hothead."

Marco laughed briefly at the nickname before he sighed and turned to look at the ground. "You won't be able to bring him back," He said quietly.

At this point, Emi had put all of her possessions into the bag and had pulled it shut. She had known she wouldn't be staying on Whitebeard's ship forever, so she wanted to be able to travel light when she left.

Putting a goofy smile on her face to try and cheer Marco up, Emi replied, "I know, but I can at least keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't do anything too stupid. Besides, Ace is like me; he doesn't like to be alone."

Marco stared at her for a moment before a small smile broke out on his face. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Just do yourself a favor and watch who you prank, would ya?"

As Emi slung her duffel bag and messenger bag over her shoulder, she grinned and replied, "Yeah, yeah, I know the drill."

The two went back up to the deck without speaking. The rest of the Whitebeard Pirates had given up trying to call Ace back and had gone back below deck.

Emi put two fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly. As she waited for Ryuk to come back, she turned to Marco and requested, "Tell Newgate I said goodbye and thanks for everything, would ya?"

"Sure. But before you go," Marco replied, digging a hand into one of his pockets, "Keep this with you; just in case you need to find us."

A second later, he produced a piece of vivre card. He held it out to her and Emi took it with a sad smile.

"I'm gonna miss you guys," She told him as Ryuk's head appeared next to the railing.

Marco smirked and rested his hands on his hips, "Don't worry. I'm sure we'll meet again soon enough."

Emi smiled and nodded in response. She took on last good look at the Moby dick before turning around and leaping up onto Ryuk's head.

"Alright Ryuk," she said, patting his horn and looking at the stormy stretch of sky before them, "Let's go find Ace."

**.:x:.**

**Before you say it, I know people are waiting for Emi and Luffy to meet up. It's coming up in the next chapter so please don't eat me!**

**Anyway, hoped you liked it. Reviews and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated!**

**~SeekingFireflies**


	4. Note

**Hey there!**

**Okay, before you say it, I know that it's been forever and a week since I've updated this. While I swear I have reasons, I'm not going to bore you with a list of excuses. Instead, I'm just going to get down to business.  
I am NOT discontinuing ****Four White Lilies****, nor am I putting it on hiatus. I'm taking the advice of my old beta reader (whom I haven't talked to in forever, and apologize profusely for that) and rewriting the story. I'm changing a major factor of the first few chapters, which will affect the remainder of the plot. **

**Luckily for you, I've finished and posted the first chapter of the new version! Just go to my profile and click on the title ****Four White Lilies**** that doesn't have the words 'old version' anywhere on it. The prologue is the same as this one, but the following chapter is completely different (I quite literally started from scratch).**

**Thank you so much to everyone who has kept with me over the course of my absence. It means the world to me. A special thanks to RedRose43 who inspired me to start writing this again. I hope you'll be willing to start fresh with me, as I feel like this new version will be better than the original.  
Thanks a ton,  
~Decadent Decay (formerly Seeking Fireflies)**


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